Life Away: Arachne
by Nate-Miki
Summary: A human girl has signed up for the exchange program. She is introduced to a world of magic and weaving. A world she had thought of as a myth. Rated T for now. (No one knows when the lovable spiders are involved.) Feedback accepted.
1. Chapter 1

A black haired girl calmly whistled to herself as she sat in the lobby of Tokyo's Exchange Office. From what she had managed to learn upon entering the building it was more an office for Tokyo's extensive MON branch then an actual office for the exchange agents. She adjusted the hoodie she wore over her school uniform. A uniform for a school she wasn't going to be seeing for a while. She stood up and grabbed her bag before walking towards the desk upon seeing the receptionist motion to her. The receptionist that had motioned for her was a human but a Lamia sat curled at the other end of the desk filing paperwork.

"Sorry for the delay. Miss Chiso will be meeting with you. Her office is the third down on the left. I also wish to commend you. It's not often a human decides to go outside their comfort zone and sign up for the exchange program." The receptionist calmly says. The girl notes that there is no indication of either ones name.

"Thank you." The girl said as she walked out of the room and down the hall. She took a deep breath before entering the office. The owner of the office was nowhere to be found but the office itself revealed quite a bit about the owner's personality. Adorning one of the walls of the office were multiple maps. Most of the maps were of either past or current extent of tribal nations although a multiple other maps were mixed in. Multiple pins were pushed into the maps leaving only two maps untouched. A separate wall held a book case adorned with all different kinds of mythology. The wall behind the desk was adorned with a display case holding multiple different small artifacts from different cultures. Adorning the desk itself was a simple jewelry box. The inside of the box was mainly obscured by the angle it sat at but the girl could make out what appeared to be rings within. Also seated on the desk was a blue haired doll with a rather creepy looking umbrella.

"Ah I'm so sorry about the wait. I had stepped out to get a cup of tea." A voice says from the hallway behind the girl. The girl turns around and steps into the office and looks up at the woman. The woman wore a white suit that had her name tag tucked into a pocket. The woman's auburn hair was pulled back into a ponytail. This only served to draw more attention to the woman's hazel eyes and slight tan. The woman's build also appeared to be more athletic than normal, almost as if this woman would run marathons for fun.

The woman offered her hand for a handshake. The girl carefully shakes the woman's hand, taking not of the multiple rings the woman wore.

"I'm Mikka Chiso, one of the coordinator's here at this branch. I assume you are, Kinu Niwa, correct." The woman said as she walked towards the desk. There was a hint of an English accent in her langue even though she appeared to be a native.

"Yes. I understand I am here to be placed in the exchange program. I'm a little concerned that I was asked to not pack clothes." Kinu says as she steps towards the desk. To her shock the creepy doll seated on the desk turns its head to look at her. The doll twirls playfully as it stands up. Mikka notices this and quietly taps one of the rings adorning her hand causing it to disappear. Kinu stares at the woman dumbfounded.

"I am a user of magic. Particularly puppeteer magic. I am sorry if my little one scared you. They tend to have a free will and the mind of a young child." Mikka says as she takes off the ring and places it in the jewelry box.

"Oh. I've never seen magic before. It's not even common in liminals. Oh and about the clothes issue?" Kinu says as she catches her breathe. To say the least the realization that the doll had been alive was quite a terrifying surprise for her.

"Not very many outfits available in modern day Japan would be suited for where you are going. As such a proper wardrobe will be prepared for you upon arrival." Mikka calmly stats as she looks over at Kinu.

"Where am I going?" Kinu asks, almost hesitant at the thought of what could happen.

"Lobo da serra da floresta." Mikka says with some difficulty. While she appeared to have a grasp on the langue it was clear she did not use it often.

"Where?" Kinu asked. She had never heard of anything like this before.

"Silken Forest Wolf. It's a world formed through magic that runs parallel to our world. It is a place that has Arachne calling it home. Although where you would be is more the grasslands instead of forest." Mikka says.

"You're kidding right. A world of magic. That sounds like something from a game series I played once." Kinu says in disbelief. Mikka just laughs before offering her hand.

"I find just like my teacher it is so much better to teach through example. Shall we?" Mikka says with a small laugh. Without thinking Kinu takes Mikka's hand. It is a move she quickly regrets as the world dissolves away around her and Mikka.

Author Note

I've decided to make these series separate from other host series. Right now Life Away: Arachne is the only one being worked on.

As a side not for anyone that's read Emotion's Connect by Thread yes this is the same Mikka, only grown up.

As always feedback is appreciated. With the next chapter of Daily Life with Monster girls out now expect any Daily Life story to be updated more often.


	2. Chapter 2

"Ugh… Never again." Kinu gasps as she straightens up. She bends over again as it feels that her last meal wishes to rejoin the world. Once her stomach settles she carefully straightens up again and looks around. Standing ten feet away from her is Mikka. The woman was currently smirking. As for the surroundings the duo were standing in the middle of what appeared to be a pathway made of packed dirt. A pile of smooth cut stones sat to one side of the pathway. It dawned on Kinu that these stones were likely meant as paving or stepping stones. The other side of the path had a very thick patch of reeds growing along it. The reeds were being blown lightly in the wind.

"Teleporting spells are never fun the first time around. I've seen several Liminals suffer far worse from being teleported so you did well for a human." Mikka says as pulls a bottle out of a grey bag hanging from her shoulder. Kinu couldn't remember if the woman had the bag before what had apparently been a spell was activated. Mikka shakes a small tablet out of the bottle and hands the tablet to Kinu. The tablet was simply an antacid tablet used to help upset stomachs. Kinu swallows it without any trouble.

"Magic is an oddity for me. I knew some Liminals could use it but it never dawned on me that humans could." Kinu says as she looks up at the sky. A few wisp like clouds float through an otherwise clear blue sky. She pauses upon hearing Mikka click her tongue.

"Little one, you can come out." Mikka says as she looks towards the reeds. For a moment there is no response. Then a patch of reeds moves to reveal what appears to be more reeds. It's only until the second patch of reeds moves out into the path that Kinu realizes what she's looking at.

The creature standing before the two stands at a height that only appears to be three feet tall. The brownish blond hair frames a face adorned with six golden eyes. The creature's hair is spiked up to resemble cat ears. The eyes have no visible white or pupil within them. Moving on this creature appeared to be a humanoid girl wearing a short crop tank top that was patterned after tiger stripes. Strapped across the girls back was a cylinder shaped object that Kinu assumed was a quiver. When the creature moves closer it is more obvious that the cylinder was actually holding multiple bundles of the reeds the girl had been in. Adorning the girls hands were what appeared to be clawed gauntlets. These gauntlets had a color matching unpolished gold although multiple black lines swept through the gold. Moving further down the girl wore what appeared to be a tribal skirt on her hips. The skirt was colored the same way as the tank top. Where the girl's legs would be was what could only be described as a second body. A body shaped after a spider. This spider half was the same unpolished gold as the gauntlets the girl appeared to wear. Black stripes ran through the gold as well.

"Human! There's a human with Miss Chiso!" The creature says with a burst of energy. It is very clear that the creature was a Small Breed Arachne. The Arachne darted closer with a burst of speed that startled Kinu. Kinu managed to keep her footing but was now being circled by the energetic girl.

"She's here for the exchange program. Can you direct us to the town?" Mikka asks as she pets the Arachne on the head. The Arachne pivots to look at Mikka. Kinu snickers at this tank like motion.

"Okay. I'm Tigerswallow by the way." The Arachne says in a much more subdued tone. Tigerswallow promptly begins walking along the dirt pathway. Mikka motions for Kinu to follow. Kinu notes that the dirt path quickly gives way to a stone path. This new path type has the added effect of causing Tigerswallow's foot steps to click off the path.

"What type of Liminals live here?" Kinu asks as she loosens her hoodie. It was quickly becoming apparent to her that the native temperature was several degrees higher then what her outfit was meant for. In truth it would seem any regular outfit she would wear would be too warm in this environment.

"Mainly Arachne and Harpy cities although a few of the larger lakes are home to fresh water Merfolk. A few Were Beast types make homes here as well although those are villages. I also believe that a Dragon or two makes their home here. I haven't met them in person though." Mikka says as she looks over her rings. She looks up upon seeing the city off in the distant. Kinu pauses as she looks at the sprawling area. It appears to be more a large collection of tents surrounded by fields.

"Tents? You said this was a town. It looks more like what I would imagine a nomad camp would look like. Although the size is believable." Kinu says as she watches Mikka walk. Tigerswallow bounces lightly at the statement.

"All Arachne can spin spider silk to some extent which means it is by far our most common resource. This along with most of our kinds large size means that tents are the best building type for us. Not to mention not even the strongest of winds will budge our tents once they are anchored." Tigerswallow says as she turns to look at Kinu. Amusingly enough she keeps walking towards the town which leads to the oddity of an Arachne walking backwards. Tigerswallow pauses upon seeing what Kinu is wearing.

"Is there something wrong?" Kinu asks as she stares back at the girl. Tigerswallow hops lightly during which she reorients herself to be facing forward.

"Your outfit is far too heavy to wear here. When we get to the town I'll have to take you to a Weaver. She'll be able to get you a proper outfit." Tigerswallow says as she looks over her clawed hand. Kinu cringes at how mischief the statement sounded.

Author Corner

By far one of the funniest parts of being a writer is designing worlds. In this case it was both the Arachne town and a few new Arachne. For the most part new Arachne types are somewhat scarce. I plan on the end of a chapter that introduces a new one in person to have a small amount of information at the end about the type. Nothing new for now though, as Tigerswallow is the adorable Small Breed type.

I have fixed a sentence that was not fully written out.


	3. Chapter 3

Kinu glanced about in interest at what she was currently seeing. The tents she had seen in the distance were much larger then she had thought. Amongst all the tents Arachne went about their daily lives not paying heed to the two humans following a Small Breed. Kinu pauses for a second before pulling her hoodie off and tying it around her waist. She then pauses upon seeing a flash of red in the corner of her eye. Standing off to the side of the path were two harpies running a market stand that was labeled in a langue Kinu did not recognize.

"What's that?" Kinu asks as she points to the stall. Mikka pauses for a second to look over at the stall before continuing on her way. Kinu follows after her.

"Harpy market stall selling dye. Most Arachne cannot produce colored silk and have to rely on dye to create patterns. I'm sure you'll learn more about it later." Mikka says as she continues following Tigerswallow. The trio travel in silence which gives Kinu a chance to take in her surroundings. The area around her was truly a bustling town. Adult Arachne went about their day to day business while the children happily darted about playing tag and other games. Every once in awhile the trio would pass a Harpy or Were-liminal of varying type either going about business or selling wares. The town had a feeling of peace and tranquility.

Kinu noticed as she stopped looking around that Tigerswallow had hidden behind Mikka for some reason. Kinu peered past the two and saw what was likely the reason. A glowing summoning circle was present in front of the group. A circle that made Kinu want to throw up due to the amount of raw magic coming from it. Kinu looked over at Mikka expecting an even stronger reaction from the magic caster but to her shock Mikka stood there smiling. A blinding light pours out of the circle as it activates, flooding the area with magically energy. An energy so strong that it knocks Kinu off her feet. As she manages to stand up she gets a glimpse of the culprit, some small creature with bubblegum pink hair. Kinu just stares in disbelief at it. It was Mikka who broke the silence.

"You're late, Miz. You were to meet us right when we arrived." Mikka calmly says as the small creature floats towards her. It lands on her shoulder before looking at Kinu. It smiled before laughing.

"Sorry, didn't realize we had a human exchange student. I thought we were fetching an Arachne." Miz states as she continues to look at Kinu. It shakes its head before floating off of Mikka's shoulder and into the air.

"Sorry about that. This is Miz, my MON operative." Mikka says as she continues to follow the now somewhat skittish Tigerswallow. Kinu also takes note of how most of the other Liminals were now avoiding the group. It seemed no one wanted to deal with Miz herself or just whatever species she was.

"Here we are, the house of the Brood Mother. You are not allowed inside." Tigerswallow says as she glares at Miz. Miz laughs before hovering away from the group.

"Of course I'm not." Miz says as she calmly floats in place. Mikka shakes her head before motioning for the group to enter the tent. As they enter the tent Kinu notices a sitting Arachne talking with a relatively fluffy and large Arachne. If Kinu's memory was correct it was a Large Breed Arachne and likely had a short temper. Standing off to the side were three more individuals. Two more Arachne, one of which was wearing what appeared to be chitin armor and another creature that could only be described as an Arachne but as a scorpion. This individual's slender build made Kinu believe that it was a Long Legs variety. The other two Arachne were an unknown to her though.

"Ah, Mikka, welcome. I had been told that you would be arriving with a human homestay." The seated Arachne says with a hint of intrigue. The Arachne standing next to her turns to look at the group revealing the fact that she had been holding a staff. The seated Arachne looks over Kinu and frowns before motion over one of the Arachne. The Arachne approaches and pauses.

"Yes, Mother?" The Arachne asks as she lowers herself some. Across the room a groan is heard. Kinu glances over just in time to see the armored Arachne step out of the tent, likely to deal with Miz. A small laugh emerges from the seated Arachne's lips.

"Ah you brought Miz, Mikka. Anyways this newcomer is likely uncomfortable in her outfit and I'd rather do paperwork when we all our comfortable. So please take her into the other room and create an outfit more, proper for both the climate and a human." The Arachne says. The smaller one nods.

"Of course." The Arachne says. The next thing Kinu knows is she's being practically dragged into the other room.

Author Corner

Originally I wanted this chapter simply to be Kinu have her outfit fitted and then things being talked over but I decided actually seeing parts of the town first would be better. And I just realized I missed a perfect opportunity for a joke. Who here would have loved to see Harpies' harping their wears?

As always feedback is accepted.

I have fixed one small error and one giant error. Sorry for the mistake.


End file.
